u/Best-Reality6718

This is a washed curd cheese but the same principals apply to other cheeses. Follow the pressing weights and schedule for the particular cheese you are making. They change, especially for cheddared makes or salted curd makes that are acidified prior to pressing. These can take a lot of pressure to close because the PH is set prior to curds going in the press, rather than the curds continuing to acidify in the press. The mechanics here can be used for nearly all pressed cheeses. This is how I do it, other folks have their ways like anything. But this is what works for me. If you have tricks of your own please share them! I’m always happy to learn new and better ways of doing things!

Flavor definitely leans hard toward alpine. Just a really delicious cheese. I’ll be proud to pass this one out! Already have it wedged up and vacuum sealed for my coworkers tomorrow. Neighbors already claimed some right after I took the picture. Good thing I love them.

These are my favorite cheeses to make and eat. Super fun to make and very versatile. This one is gonna be a good one!

I took a portion of curds out and soaked them on Port warmed to 100F for 12 minutes then drained them thoroughly. I folded them back in with the rest of the curds after the soak and just before hooping. I added anatto trying for a stark contrast between the colors. I’ve seen many wine infused cheeses end up in the bin so I started off conservatively. Overall it looks… interesting. An ugly little duck. Lol! I’ll see how it tastes and make changes accordingly. It was definitely fun to play with. Knitted tight up! I did heat the port to 160F for a few minutes and let it cool to 100 before adding curds.

This is a really good cheese to make for folks wanting to dip their toes in a washed curd recipe. It’s really fun and interesting to make. The NEC recipe is a really good one that I’ve made a few times now. The cheese is a crowd favorite each time. Plus it has a short maturation time and comes out beautifully after just six to eight weeks.

All the videos can be found on youtube under cheese_by_todd